LIRS Endorsed Bills

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Below is a list of legislation that LIRS officially endorsed in 2020.

The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security with limited ability to exercise their discretion in favor of the spouses, children, and parents of American citizens in immigration proceedings, on a case-by-case basis, to provide fairness and prevent hardships associated with family separation.

The bill would ensure elderly refugees and other refugees with disabilities who are in the process of applying for American citizenship remain eligible for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits they are entitled to, in spite of delays at United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The FAIR Proceedings Act would require legal counsel during removal proceedings for children, individuals with disabilities, victims of abuse, torture, and violence; and those at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. In addition to access to counsel, it would ensure know-your-rights programming for those in remote detention centers.

A bill to halt harmful immigration enforcement activities during COVID-19 to preserve our collective public health. The bill would: a) halt deportations of noncitizens during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide for release on orders of supervision for people who have received removal orders to prevent prolonged post-removal-order detention; b) halt arrests and apprehensions of noncitizens physically present in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic; c) halt in-person check-ins, service of Notices to Appear, and referrals for 1325/26 Prosecutions; d) at the border, provide for processing and parole of individuals who make claims for relief under immigration laws; e) suspend all in-person court proceedings, and, for detained individuals, establish a procedure for conducting custody determinations and provide for telephonic hearings provided the respondent requests such a hearing in writing; f) prohibit federal funds from being used to implement the CDC order powering automatic expulsions of asylum-seekers and unaccompanied children at the border.

A bill which calls for the suspension of deportations of Haitian nationals until the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in both the United States and Haiti. The legislation also requires the Department of Homeland Security prioritize migrants whose detention has been deferred and who do not pose a public safety risk for alternatives to detention.

H.Res.902 & S.Res.545 - Commemorating March 17, 2020, as the 40th anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980

And the amendments made by that Act, at a time when the need for bipartisan support of the refugee resettlement program of the United States is critical to the survival of the program.

The bill would ensure that the relief authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is also available to immigrant families. In addition to allowing immigrants to access relief funds, the bill also halts the implementation of the public charge rule, appropriates money to the CDC to issue grants to community organizations working with COVID-19 in immigrant communities, and modifies current immigration policies that deter immigrants from seeking healthcare.

S.Res.32 – A resolution recognizing January 27, 2019, as the anniversary of the first refugee and Muslim ban

and urging the President to demonstrate true leadership on refugee resettlement. It also affirms this Nation's proud history of refugee settlement, emphasizes the importance of the United States Refugee Admissions Program as a critical tool for U.S. global leadership, and calls upon the U.S. government to resettle a robust number of refugees to meet its share of the global need during FY2019-FY2020.

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